Colts' Chris Ballard clinging to financial discipline during rebuild

The Indianapolis Colts have been extremely quiet on the free agent market – much to the chagrin of fans – but general manager Chris Ballard believes his financial discipline is an aspect that will set the team apart during the roster rebuild.

“Financial discipline in this league you don’t see it in this league like you used to. I think it’s a good thing to have,” Ballard said. “Because what happens is these guys are re-tooling the roster every two years. You are signing all these free agents and then two years from now, you are seeing them all get cut and then they are back on the street again.”

Ballard’s preference to build through the draft will take some time, likely more than two draft pools, but he feels that building the foundation before spending heavily in free agency is what will make the team successful.

“We have to get some roster continuity with 10 to 12 players that are going to be Colts for a long time,” Ballard said. “Then you feel better about dipping into free agency and getting a guy. Not just good players, they need to be able to influence the locker room with their character.”

The Colts will have nine picks entering the 2018 NFL Draft and as of now, they will have eight selections and possibly more during the 2019 NFL Draft. This should give the Colts a solid foundation to build to go along with the players they drafted in the 2017 draft.

Ballard’s stinginess in free agency isn’t because he’s opposed to money. He also feels that bringing in free agents can be risky if there is a chance they might ruin the culture of the team.

“A culture needs to be built. A coach can do so much, but the players in that locker room build the culture that you want, with their work ethic, with the standards that they set,” said Ballard. “We have to get more players like that in our locker room.”

Ballard said since he was hired as general manager that the rebuild will take some time, and he’s clinging to his financial discipline during free agency as to not ruin that plan.